THE STRANGER IN THE PUB

When Xuan Tianyi returned to his table, the stranger who had been bothering him was still seated there. Seemingly patiently waiting for him. Xuan Tianyi sighed in exasperation. What would he have to do to get rid of this guy? 

Sitting down, Xuan Tianyi took a sip from his drink.

"You left your drink open, went to the bathroom, returned, and continued drinking it." The stranger said after shaking his head.

"So?" Xuan Tianyi asked with a small frown.

"What if I had drugged your drink?"

"Why would you drug my drink?" The frown on Xuan Tianyi's face was unyielding.

"Because I had fantasized about you everyday since I saw the latest episode of The Men Issue."

"Interesting." Xuan Tianyi said and took another sip from his drink.

The stranger shook his head again. "Seriously though. In case of next time, you should be more careful."

"It's a little too late for that advice now."

"Because?"

"It should've come a couple of months before I fell in love with my boss. Now, everything just hurts like hell."

The stranger didn't seem the least bit interested in Xuan Tianyi's pity party. "Well, have you ever heard of Sexual Healing?"

"What's that?"

"You'll be okay after boning someone else."

"I don't want to bone someone else."

"Why not?"

"Because someone else isn't him."

"What exactly happened between you two? Did he cheat on you?"

"I wish he did. Because if he did, I'd get mad at him, but if he still wanted me, we could get back together." Xuan Tianyi suppressed a small yawn.

"I see," The stranger muttered. Peering at Xuan Tianyi curiously.

Xuan Tianyi yawned loudly. He shook his head and spoke to the stranger. "I'd love to continue this thing we have going on at the moment. But I'm sleepy."

"I have to go." Xuan Tianyi pulled out his wallet to settle the bill but the stranger grabbed his hand.

"Don't worry. I'll take care of it."

Xuan Tianyi nodded at him nonchalantly. He was suddenly weak and didn't feel like he had the strength to argue with the man. Slowly, he stood up and staggered towards the exit. As far as his legs could go before they crumbled underneath him. Soon, his vision blurred and the waves of multicolored bar light was replaced with a peaceful darkness that he could not fight.

Xuan Tianyi's collapse was followed by a few gasps from the small crowd that witnessed his loss of consciousness. Before anyone could react any more than that, the stranger Xuan Tianyi had been conversing with hurried to his side. He picked Xuan Tianyi and supported him by his side. Smiled embarrassedly, he announced to the people staring at him, "He's my friend. We're together."

Everyone went back to their drinks and paid both Xuan Tianyi and the stranger no mind.

The stranger supported Xuan Tianyi to the park. Just as he was about to open the door to a white Audi, a voice spoke to him, "Hey. You have something that belongs to me. I want it back."

The stranger looked up to see a woman with a head full of unruly curls snarling at him. "What? Your hairbrush?" He asked glibly.

She snickered. "No, not my hairbrush. Him."

The stranger stared from the head resting peacefully on his shoulders to the woman with the rough hair. "Well, you must've seen me carry him from inside the pub. He's my brother."

The woman tapped her forehead with her index finger impatiently. "Are you going to hand him over or do you want to get beaten up first?"

The stranger gave the woman the onceover. She had a slim stature that made her look like she couldn't even lift a bucket of water. Her red leather jacket, black heels and overall dark demeanor didn't make her intimidating at all. It actually made her a little cute. With a demeaning smile, he asked, "Who's going to beat me up?"

Without any hesitation, the woman planted a kick in the man's torso.

The man immediately lost control of Xuan Tianyi. Before Xuan Tianyi could touch the ground, however, with the combined swiftness of a fox and the agility of a tiger, the woman had carried Xuan Tianyi so he was leaning on her.

The woman stared at the smart mouthed man who was now crouching, holding his sides. He didn't look like he had any intention to put up a fight with her. For good measure though, she flung her right leg at him, letting her heel kiss his face.

Seeing the man in a crumpled mess on the floor, satisfaction sweetened Su Yang's heart. Fuelled with adrenaline. She opted against taking a cab, gathered Xuan Tianyi and threw him on her shoulders.

*** 

When Su Yang got to the front of Xuan Tianmei's door, Xuan Tianyi was still unconscious.

Su Yang found that she was in a conundrum. First, she couldn't just knock on the door. She couldn't risk revealing her identity to Xuan Tianmei. Second, she couldn't just leave Xuan Tianyi at the front of the door. Hua Zhendan definitely wouldn't like that.

Before she could decide though, Xuan Tianmei opened the door and with a mouth widened from surprise, looked from her to Xuan Tianyi who was still hanging limply from her shoulders.

"What's going on?" Xuan Tianmei asked.

"Emm… I found him on the yard. Passed out. I guessed he lived here, so I brought him over."

"He does. Thank you. I've been waiting up for him." Xuan Tianmei said, all in one breath.

"Okay. Can I bring him inside?" Su Yang asked.

"Of course." Xuan Tianmei hurried into the house and pointed at the couch. "How are you even carrying him?"

Su Yang laughed nervously. "I'm surprisingly strong when the need arises."

Xuan Tianmei nodded her understanding even though she didn't understand at all.

Su Yang gently placed Xuan Tianyi on the chair. Then arranged him. When she stood up, she noticed Xuan Tianmei peering at her curiously. Pretending to be worn out, she stretched her shoulders.

"Thank you. I'm grateful." Xuan Tianmei muttered.

"Anything," Su Yang forced a polite smile. "I'd better get going then."

"No," Xuan Tianmei said firmly. "Please, let me offer you tea or something."

"It's okay," Su Yang disagreed.

"Please, I insist." Xuan Tianmei persisted.

"Fine. Tea." Su Yang said and sat down. Just then, her phone rang. She looked at the screen and saw two characters that told her Yun Peng was her caller. Without thinking on it, she accepted the call and pressed the phone against her ear, "Hello, motherfucker."

The voice on the other end didn't waste time on formalities. It went straight to the point. "Su Yang, my boyfriend came home some minutes ago. For some reason, he is beaten up and well, this is a long shot, but the bruises on his face look very much like your creation. Which I'm familiar with, of course. But then, maybe it had nothing to do with you, right?"

"Wait. You have a boyfriend?"

"Did you or did you not beat him up?" Yun Peng's voice was angry. It trembled a little as he spoke.

Not a lot of things scared Su Yang but she knew better than to trigger Yun Peng. "I did beat up someone less than an hour ago. But there's no way that bastard is someone you're dating. Let me see a picture."

Su Yang's phone beeped almost immediately. She viewed the picture and gritted her teeth. "Can I see a before picture?"

"Cut the crap, Su Yang."

"Fine," Su Yang sighed. "Yes, I did beat him up, but it wasn't personal." When Yun Peng didn't reply, she continued, "I didn't even know you were dating. That's—"

"What did Xiao Maiguo do?" Yun Peng interrupted her.

"Remember I'm working for the president of Shenhua Corporations?"

"Of course."

"Well, my job there is taking care of his boyfriend. Basically, I shadow him all the time, and also ensure his safety."

"I know your job. What does it have to do with anything?"

"Patience. I'm getting there."

"So well, President Hua and his boyfriend well, their relationship is being threatened. His boyfriend went to a bar to drink away his sorrows. While he was there, your boyfriend approached him and hit on him. My boss' boyfriend turned him down and when he went to the bathroom, your boyfriend spiked his drink. I assume you know what happened next."

"I'm sorry I bothered you then," Yun Peng said after a moment of silence.

"I can't believe that asshole is the reason you haven't asked out Lu Qihao."

Again, the person on the other line was silent for a moment. Then, it said, "I've never liked Lu Qihao enough to want to date him. Moreover, I didn't know Xiao Maiguo and I were cheating on each other now."

Both of Yun Peng's sentences were brief. But their meanings were loud to Su Yang. Yun Peng's boyfriend had done a terrible thing and the man was hurting. Before she could make another comment though, Yun Peng disconnected the call.

Su Yang called him back, but he didn't pick up the call. She looked at the phone with worry etched on her face.

"Oh my God!" Xuan Tianmei's voice brought Su Yang back to reality.

Su Yang frowned when she realized Xuan Tianmei had heard all or most of her conversation. "Were you eavesdropping on my conversation?"